fruit fantasies

Now my daughter thinks this is funny and strange, but when I was little, in winter we could not even dream of fresh fruits and berries. And as soon as the first apples appeared on the apple trees, the boys and I immediately plucked them, still quite green and hard, because after the winter dullness we really wanted something fresh, smelling of summer itself. My mom (and all the moms in the neighborhood) made sure to make… dandelion jam in June! It was amazingly delicious, and I have never tried anything more unusual in my life. And of course, the signature dessert was watermelon peel jam – so sweet that it could only be eaten with small spoons.

But now we, spoiled by fruit abundance all year round, can afford culinary fantasies involving any fruit. In the summer, so many fresh berries always accumulate in our house that we simply do not have time to eat them. Therefore, it is worth coming up with something interesting and unusual. And here inspiration can be drawn from Asian cuisine, where fruits are traditionally used instead of vegetables or mixed with them. There, no one will be surprised by the combination of duck with pineapple and mango or seafood with strawberries. In Thailand, for example, fried bananas are sold at every turn, a classic Thai dish.

Fruit desserts are not limited to “cherry cake”. Try freezing grapes and serving them in a chilled glass with a cocktail or champagne. And if you want to impress your friends, invite them to fruit or berry … soup. Strawberry soup has always been in the greatest demand. It is served very chilled, in deep plates, bowls or glass goblets. Strawberry soup, garnished with fragrant mint leaves, goes perfectly with a scoop of ice cream.

Although, to be honest, I still love apples the most. The very ones that grew in our country house and which my friends and I plucked from the trees too early.

Strawberry meringue soup

For 4 persons

Prepare: 15 minutes

Preparation: 20 minutes

For soup:

• fresh strawberries – 1,5 kg (for juice)
• fresh strawberries – 500 g (cut into soup)
• 4 Art. l. Sahara
• half a glass of water

For the meringue:

• 3 eggs
• 4 Art. l. Sahara
• 1,5 st. l. strawberry syrup (such as Monin)

Preparation

Start with soup. Dissolve sugar in water, bring syrup to a boil and refrigerate. Pass the washed strawberries through a juicer and strain through several layers of cheesecloth (to get a clear juice). Mix it with the prepared syrup and refrigerate. Separate egg whites from yolks. Beat the whites with a mixer until a stable foam is obtained. Continuing to beat, slowly pour in the sugar and pour in the strawberry syrup. Beat this mass for 8-10 minutes – until it becomes warm. Using a pastry bag (or a teaspoon), put 4 balls of protein mass on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment and place in an oven preheated to 2 ° C for 3-180 minutes. Let the meringues cool. Arrange the chopped strawberries on deep plates, pour cold soup over and garnish with meringue. Summer dinner is ready!

Summer fruits in Muscat wine

For 4 persons

Prepare: 15 minutes

Preparation: 10 minutes

• 4 white peaches
• 4 yellow nectarines
• 125 g strawberries
• 8 raspberries
• 8 blackberries
• 2 Art. l. lemon juice
• 1 Art. l. Sahara
• 250 ml muscat sparkling wine (like Asti)

Preparation

Chill the berries and wine in the refrigerator. Peaches and nectarines cut into slices 1 cm wide. Put them in a salad bowl, season with lemon juice, add sugar, mix and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Just before serving, arrange fruits and whole berries in glasses or glasses and pour wine over.